tourism

Had some great fun on Thursday of this week when my buddy Ben Burford and I took a daylong trip to the Black Belt for a photo tour. Left around 6:30 in the a.m. and back around 7 p.m. Took around 400 photos. We drove down I-59 to Eutaw and left the interstate world behind for almost the rest of the trip. Stopped at several historic homes, dilapidated shacks, downtowns, had a typical lunch of fried, fried, fried fish as Ezells and then bounced over to Marengo County for a quick stop by my homeplace in Octagon, Alabama before heading to the historical beauty of Gaineswood, Bluff Hall and the general granduer that is Demopolis. A quick stop for some of the Bird family road art and on towards home.

Here’s a collage of some of the photos. I’ve uploaded a few more to my flickr account here.

Update: just posted some of my favorite photos from the trip to my flickr account.

Haven’t really been doing a lot of posting this week. Have been doing a lot of work. Trying to wrap up an annual report for the Alabama Association of RC&D’s, picked up a nice new client this week, took a trip to the Black Belt to work on an Antique Trail along Highway 14–a three-day festival in the fall that I’ll be developing a website for. To many irons in the fire….

Here’s the Greene County Courthouse in downtown, Eutaw, Alabama. I do find the Veterans monuments in each county interesting–I consider the one in my home county of Marengo to be one of the better ones I’ve seen so far in my travels–but I may be a bit prejudiced. The courthouse is in disrepair and surely needs some love. More photos to come.

Well, I don’t normally do this sort of thing, but I’ve been reviewing applications for National Scenic Byway Designation over the past week + and just really wanted to share the itinerary that my friend Colette Boehm at the Gulf Coast Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has put together to highlight the great experiences someone can have on a trip to Alabama’s Coastal Connection.

There are many ways to enjoy Alabama’s Coastal Connection, but none offers more scenic views than our Connecting with Nature itinerary. Take two days and experience the beauty and variety of the natural assets of Alabama’s Gulf Coast and the interpretive facilities that help visitors understand their connection. Spring and fall are the best times of year to enjoy this itinerary, and completion times will vary depending upon the degree of interest in hiking and/or biking along the variety of trails.

Start: Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary

After beginning your drive along the rural farmlands of Mobile County and by the scenic docks of Bayou La Batre, continue across the Dauphin Island bridge onto the island. Arriving at the Dauphin Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary, you’ll find parking and picnic areas and interpretive signage describing the habitats and birds to be found here, and along the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail, on which the sanctuary is a stop. Explore the 1000-foot handicap accessible boardwalk from the parking lot to “Gaillard Lake” or the raised walkway through the Tupelo swamp. The sanctuary encompasses more than a mile of trails through a variety of intact habitats including preserved maritime forest.

[Read more…] about A Departure, but great for Traveling to the Gulf